Lab Director

The Carolina Health and Relationship Mechanisms (CHARM) Lab is led by Jennifer Fillo, PhD, MPH.

Dr. Fillo received her BS in Psychology from Carnegie Mellon University and her PhD in Social Psychology from the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities. Following a position as a project director at the University of Houston, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Clinical and Research Institute on Addictions (CRIA) at the University at Buffalo (UB), SUNY. This position was funded by an Institutional (T32) ​Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award training grant in alcohol etiology and treatment from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), National Institutes of Health. She went on to a Research Assistant Professor position at UB, during which she was awarded a K01 Mentored Research Scientist Career Development Award from NIAAA. While at UB, she also pursued a Masters in Public Health. Currently, Dr. Fillo is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior at the University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health.

Dr. Fillo’s research examines social and interpersonal processes related to health behavior, with a particular focus on the influence of close others (e.g., family, friends, romantic partners) on the use of alcohol and other addictive substances. Dr. Fillo has published research on the intersection of intra-personal and inter-personal processes affecting health behavior, and how dyadic perspectives can enhance understanding of the causes and consequences of negative health behavior. Her research program aims to inform interventions leveraging the influence of close others to support health behavior change. Dr. Fillo has expertise in close relationship processes, substance use, and the design and analysis of dyadic and longitudinal studies. Dr. Fillo’s ongoing research in these areas is funded by her K01 Mentored Research Scientist Development Award.

Dr. Fillo also has a line of research examining the effects of service-connected stress and trauma on the health and well-being of US military service members and their families. She has published on a range of topics, including military sexual trauma, deployment, combat exposure, and traumatic brain injury. Dr. Fillo has particular interest in how romantic partners can buffer service members from negative outcomes, but also how romantic partners own health and well-being may be affected by the stressors of military life.